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Isaiah had already been planning to come over for dinner, so he arrived first. Mom gave him a kiss on the cheek and then filled him in while I dug out the paper plates and leftover Valentine’s Day napkins from the sideboard in the dining room. No one was going to want to wash dishes after this conversation.
Javier arrived soon after with four pizzas, of which I was sure he’d eat one himself. Marcie and Nicole, my two best friends and the cutest couple in school—after Javier and I, of course—came in just after he did, and Mr. Meade, our history teacher, still in his tie from school, showed up at the same time as our friend Shamila Jones from the Terra Linda Historical Society. Beatrice arrived last—it was always helpful to have a reporter around when you needed to spread the word or sti
